UCLA Will Punish Pitt In Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl

Pitt vs. UCLA, 2 ET

Tony the Tiger himself would look at the roster for Pitt in this game and simply say it looks not Grrr...eat! Still, that's what happens in these bowl games and that does give us as bettors a bit of an edge. In the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, we have Pitt taking on UCLA in what should be a pretty easy matchup for the Bruins. Let's double check and make sure we go that route though.

Starting with Pitt, their year was solid enough with an 8-4 record. They ended the year on a nice 4-0 run, and the losses on the season came at the hands of the teams you'd expect them to lose to. For example, they lost to Tennessee and North Carolina, but they also lost to Georgia Tech in a tossup game. They lost badly at Louisville as well. I don't know that even at full strength I think that Pitt has what it takes to win this game. However, they are certainly down their starting quarterback, Kedon Slovis as he is in the transfer portal. Their defense is missing a lot of the starters and key pieces to make a difference and if you're playing against a high-octane offense like UCLA, it helps to have a defense.

UCLA finished the year 9-3. You might have expected them to not be disappointed in that, but in reality they should be. They lost a game to Arizona at home by six points. Then they also lost the following week, again at home, to USC. I can maybe excuse the USC loss, but not the Arizona one. It was at least conceivable that UCLA could've won both of those games and had a slim chance at being one of the final four teams. Instead, they finished just 1-2 in their last three games and now play for a kind of meaningless bowl game. The good news for them is that they should coast to victory in this game. Most important is their quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson will be in the game as will his favorite target Jake Bobo. If they can keep their connection against a depleted Pitt defense, this should be a cakewalk.

As you can guess, I'm taking UCLA in this game. I will play this for multiple units at -5.5. I think the game just gets out of hand for Pitt. Maybe their backup quarterback comes out and kills everyone. I really don't know how good he will be. I still think UCLA is a better team and wants to build on the momentum for next year.

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